Sendoh Akira

After getting a better understanding of things, Chi Tong found that the Basketball Club had more members than he had expected. Including him, there were exactly ten people.

The captain was a third-year senior—the guy called Qie Yuan just now. His full name was Kirihara Sunren.

As for the coach, he was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked very refined, more like a gentle scholar.

Inside the Basketball Gym, the Basketball Club members stood in a line.

Qie Yuan Sunren stood before everyone and spoke in a somewhat serious tone. "Before today's training begins, let me introduce our new member."

As he spoke, he looked at Chi Tong and gestured. "Chi Tong, come out and introduce yourself."

Chi Tong stepped out from the line and faced the others. "Hello, everyone. My name is Chiteng Lingyu. I'm 1.77 meters tall and weigh 65 kilograms. My strongest position is point guard."

Kirihara Sunren nodded, then seemed to remember something and continued, "All right, everyone knows the new member now. Next, introduce yourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the line began, "My name is Koichi Kobayashi. I'm the team's center."

"My name is Yamamoto Ryu. I'm the team's shooting guard."

"My name is Ito Hongshu. Like you, I play point guard."

Then Sendoh spoke. "We already know each other. I play small forward."

These were all the team's regular players. The rest were substitutes.

The players introduced themselves one by one. After everyone had finished, Kirihara Sunren finally spoke again. "Although I already introduced myself once, I'll say it again. My name is Kirihara Sunren. I'm the current captain of the Basketball Team, and I play power forward."

At that, he said to the players, "Don't underestimate this Chi Tong. He won three consecutive championships during elementary school."

The moment those words came out, everyone except Sendoh was shocked. They all looked at Chi Tong, waves rising in their hearts.

More than three straight years of championships—if such an honor belonged to them, it would be enough to make them stand above the rest.

It seemed this newcomer was pretty impressive.

Suddenly, everyone thought of someone else's club application. Their gazes unconsciously shifted toward Sendoh, who stood in the same line as them.

Last year, this guy's application had apparently said that he had won a championship too. Comparing people really could make one furious. They just did not know how strong this newcomer was.

Just then, a figure walked in through the Gymnasium doors.

When Kirie Sondo saw the newcomer, he immediately greeted him. "Coach."

The man nodded, sweeping his gaze over everyone before finally stopping on Chi Tong.

"A new member?"

Kirihara Sunren nodded. "Yes, Coach. His name is Chi Tong Lingyu, and he joined today. This is his information."

As he spoke, he handed Chi Tong's club application to the coach.

The coach accepted the application, and his brows rose slightly when he saw the information on it.

"Oh? Three consecutive championships?"

He raised his head and examined Chi Tong before saying, "I'm the Basketball Club's coach, Nakamura Kuangye. According to your information, you seem to be quite good at playing point guard. How about we have a practice match?"

Naturally, Chi Tong had no objections. Under the coach's arrangements, the ten players were split into two teams. The regular players formed the White Team, while the substitutes formed the Red Team.

The White Team lineup was as follows: power forward, number 4, Kirihara Sunren, third-year captain; small forward, number 6, Sento Zhang, second-year; center, number 5, Koichi Kobayashi, third-year; shooting guard, number 7, Yamamoto Ryu, second-year; point guard, number 10, Ito Hongshu, second-year. The Red Team lineup was as follows: point guard, Chiteng Lingyu, first-year; the rest were substitute players.

Soon, everyone changed into practice jerseys and stepped onto the court. The players on both teams took their positions, and the match was ready to begin. At the coach's whistle, the practice game officially started.

After the whistle blew, the basketball rose into the air between the two teams' centers. As expected, the White Team won possession first. Koichi Kobayashi, with half a hand's height advantage over the substitute center, got there first and tipped the ball toward his teammate.

The basketball landed easily in Sendoh's hands.

Without any flashy moves, Sendoh merely glanced over Chi Tong and the others' positions before accelerating toward the Red Team's basket with the ball.

The substitute small forward assigned to defend Sendoh was no match for him. Forget stopping him—he could not even hold him up for a second.

In almost an instant, Sendoh effortlessly broke through the substitute small forward's defense and charged ahead without obstruction.

Reaching the Red Team's basket, Sendoh jumped straight up with the ball and easily laid it into the Red Team's hoop.

The ball went in. White Team 2:0 Red Team. The regulars scored first!

"So fast! Sendoh really is amazing. He seems even stronger than last year. How are we supposed to defend that?"

"Looks like we're going to lose this one!"

The substitute players were stunned by Sendoh's speed. Only Chi Tong's expression remained unchanged, as though Sendoh's performance had been nothing unusual to him.

The offense and defense switched, and the Red Team inbounded the ball. Chi Tong quickly received a pass from his teammate. Rather than launching a fast break, he steadied the tempo and slowly moved toward the opposite half.

The sound of the basketball striking the floor echoed throughout the Gymnasium, and everyone on the White Team fixed their eyes on him.

Seeing this, Ito Hongshu wanted to stop Chi Tong at midcourt and immediately stepped forward to close in on him.

When he saw the opponent approach, Chi Tong's expression did not change in the slightest. His eyes remained fixed ahead, but the movement of his hands suddenly shifted.

The basketball's trajectory abruptly changed, flying straight in one direction.

The sudden development made Ito Hongshu's gaze sharpen. Only then did he look toward the direction the ball had flown.

So fast. I didn't even notice the motion before the pass. Had he already decided to pass before I moved in?

On the other side, the substitute small forward had not noticed Chi Tong's pass. He simply continued advancing according to his own plan.

Then, all of a sudden, a basketball appeared before his eyes. He instinctively raised his hands and caught it against his chest.

He stared blankly at the basketball in his hands, but quickly came back to his senses and immediately rushed toward the White Team's basket with the ball.

However, because of his brief hesitation, Sendoh caught up to him in time.

With a crisp sound, Sendoh stole the basketball from the substitute small forward's hands.

Damn it!

The substitute small forward's heart sank. He wanted to make up for it, but it was already too late. Sendoh had already pulled several body lengths ahead of him with the ball.

Sendoh dribbled forward without meeting any effective resistance, charging straight to the Red Team's basket and sinking the ball once again.

The ball went in. White Team 4:0 Red Team.

"Sorry."

The substitute small forward spoke to Chi Tong with guilt.